On Guam, I have noticed that there are not many tourists who venture out on their own - well that is somewhat of an understatement. So far, I am the ONLY tourist that has chosen to be my own tour guide. Everybody else rides the big tour buses. I just don't like to crowd in with a bunch of people that I can't understand what they are saying. Sunday, I decided to venture out to Talofofo falls. It is inland away from the ocean.
They don't believe much in signs on Guam - not sure why, but that is just the way it is. I have a map out of a magazine that was in my hotel room. It only shows the major roads - which is mainly the one that goes around the island and the two that cut through the island. When I decide what attraction I am going to, I just have to hope for the best. The map does have little dots of where the attractions are and some landmarks.
Back to Telefofo Falls. I use the cut across the island road (I say that because I have no idea what the name of it is) but on the map I know I am on the right road because it is beside the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. (Food is very important here - they have the restaurants marked on the map). I travel across and arrive at the village of Talofofo - well one would think that the waterfall named Talofofo would be close to the village, but one would be wrong if they thought that - but one wasted a lot of time before they figured that out. I have become intimate with the village of Talofofo because I drove up and down every street looking for something that looked like a waterfall. By this time I am lost, so my best bet is to drive toward the ocean. I get lucky and wind up back on the main go around the island road. So I decided to drive up and down it a bit looking for a sign or something to the falls. Finally I give up and decide to do something else. So I head back around the tip of the island and MILES away from Talofofo is a sign.....Take a good look sister because it's the only sign you are going to get....
YAY - an actual sign with a arrow - it just doesn't get any better than this! So I turned.....and drove and drove and there was construction lots of it - deep holes in the road.....dirt road and then ROAD CLOSED - yeah another sign. There was a road to the left - so I turned and drove and drove and drove and drove - think I'm kidding? - see below:
LITERALLY - this the road to nowhere - I don't know how many miles I drove but it was a long way - I was determined to see this waterfall. This is the only fresh water waterfall that is easily accessible without hiking. But I finally gave up - turned around sad that I wouldn't see this waterfall. I got back to where the turn off was....and lo and behold another car came and went AROUND the road closed sign. Well if they could do it, so could I - VOILA - not far from the "Road Closed Sign" - Talofofo Falls Park. I was the only person there - but while I was paying my $20 entrance fee, a tour bus full of Japanese drives up. I hurriedly go to the gondola hoping to beat the lines. They seat me in an entirely enclosed Gondola with NO AIR HOLES - oh, so THAT'S what the little hand fans tied to the window are for....the guys LEAVES me in the
gondola - Are you kidding me? - I am thinking about banging on the door and asking for oxygen when he opens it and puts a Japanese family in with me. I just smile - I am sure they are wondering why I look like I just went swimming - and so we head down over the jungle to the falls. It was well worth it though. As you are going down you get the full picture of all the falls - there are four - stair stepped down the hillside. Only two are accessible to you once you are at the bottom. Below is one of them. They really were beautiful.
You can also hike to Yokoi's cave from here - it's not far - on a paved walk through the jungle. Here is a picture of the opening of the cave that he lived in for 28 years - I mentioned him in another blog, so won't go into much detail here and there are more pics on Facebook.
The funniest thing that happened though was on my way back to the waterfall on the cave trail, I met the family that had ridden in the gondola with me - The mother just started talking a blue streak to me in Japanese. I have no idea what she was trying to say to me, so I just put my hand on her arm and nodded my head and said I don't speak Japanese - so she said "Have a nice day" - I said "Arigato"(I really wanted to say "Sank U".... but I walked away because I was just about to bust out laughing. I will never know what she wanted to tell me.
I left Talofofo Falls and headed back around the southern end of the island and went to Fort Soledad. This is an old Spanish fort that defended the village of Umatac from pirates. Magellan also landed here in the 1500's. Below are some pictures of the Fort.
And I have to say that below is my favorite picture of the fort- it was taken from the lookout building above - looking out the window over Umatac Bay:
I suppose you have heard enough from me today - but I had to share the best picture - Sunday night, right at sunset - there was a rainbow right outside my hotel room - So enjoy the rainbow - it almost looks like a painting to me. I will talk to you later!
Kristi
gondola - Are you kidding me? - I am thinking about banging on the door and asking for oxygen when he opens it and puts a Japanese family in with me. I just smile - I am sure they are wondering why I look like I just went swimming - and so we head down over the jungle to the falls. It was well worth it though. As you are going down you get the full picture of all the falls - there are four - stair stepped down the hillside. Only two are accessible to you once you are at the bottom. Below is one of them. They really were beautiful.
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